Thursday, May 21, 2020

6 Ways To Sell Yourself In A Job Interview

Daniel Bortz

Unless you’re actually in sales,
the very concept of selling yourself during a job interview can be
daunting. You don’t want to sound arrogant or corny, or worse,
desperate. But learning how to self-promote in a convincing manner is
what the job interview is all about.

The good news is you can learn how to confidently talk about
yourself—specifically your skills, knowledge, and career
achievements—with a little effort. These tips can help you close the
sale on a job offer.

2) Tailor your elevator pitch

Ganesh says you should have a 30- to 60-second self-introduction prepared in advance, but this elevator pitch has to be customized to the job you’re interviewing for.“You can’t create a single elevator pitch that will work for every
audience,” says Stamford, Connecticut–based executive coach Anne Marie
Segal. “You have to be speaking to the pain points of the company.”
After all, your goal is to present yourself as the solution to their
problems.

Look closely at the job posting to assess the company’s needs and the
job responsibilities, and then tweak your pitch accordingly. Do your
research and find what matters most to the company—go to their website
and social media pages and read their mission statement, recent press
releases, and any initiatives they’re undertaking—and then tailor your
pitch.

3) Prepare meaningful anecdotes

No matter what industry you’re in, you can expect to be asked behavioral job interview questions.
Essentially, these questions require you to come up with examples from
your past work experiences—for example, “Tell me about a time when you
suffered a setback,” or, “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with
a difficult co-worker.” Unfortunately, this is where a lot of job
seekers stumble.

“Many people can tell a decent story, but almost everyone leaves off
the impact the story had on you, the participants, and the business,”
says executive coach Bill Cole, author of The Interview Success Guide. In other words, don’t forget to talk about the results of your actions.

To craft a compelling anecdote, Cole recommends using real feedback
to highlight your contributions: “Use actual dialogue of how people
raved about your solutions and how it affected the business. Describe
any awards or visibility you received. Talk about how your former boss
still raves about you on that project to his colleagues and how your
project is still in place, years later.”

4) Ask unique questions

The secret to distinguishing yourself from other job candidates is simple: Ask good questions that offer value. “These pointed, yet uncommon questions mark you as an in-depth, curious, persistent researcher,” says Cole.

Make sure at least one of your questions expresses interest in what
the company is currently working on and then tactfully weigh in. For
example, you might ask, “Will your new product have x, y, or z features
and capabilities?” Then, after the interviewer answers, you’d follow up
by offering your creative thinking on the subject, says Cole.